bonding with my granddoggy

while i was a little nervous about dogsitting the old lady's stevie, he actually made it really easy for us.  the old lady had brought his crate and all of his favorite toys, and since he's already pretty used to being at our house anyway it wasn't a totally new experience for him.  still, i've only ever spent a few hours watching him without either the old lady or her special friend in the house and this dog is seriously a stage 5 clinger.  he spent that whole time that they were gone crying and whimpering for them despite my efforts to keep him occupied and entertained.

after they left on thursday evening, he did spend a little time scampering back and forth from the door leading to the garage to the front door to his perch on the couch by the window, waiting and listening intently for the familiar sounds that would tell him they were home.  when a good amount of time went by and they didn't return, he finally resigned himself to the fact that he was stuck here with this weird lady who always tried to hug him and play with him.  heh.

i was most concerned about how the night would go, because the old lady had forgotten to pack his treats and that's the easiest way to get him to come into his crate for the night.  not to mention, at home he sleeps in the bed with his "mom and dad," so i was hoping he'd be okay because there was no way in hell the hub would let that happen here.  we never even slept with molly in the bed, and while stevie and the hub have come to an understanding where they're comfortable with each other - well, yeah.

happily, he was pretty tired by the time i decided it was bedtime and i did have a few of molly's leftover treats on hand that worked perfectly for getting him to trot into his crate.  phew.

the next morning, i got up a little earlier so i could let him out to go potty before i headed to barre class.  he was happy to see me and did his business quickly and then went back into his crate pretty easily.  he's used to that routine since the old lady does pretty much the same thing on the mornings we go work out together.  and when i got back home, the bean had gotten up and let him out and they were playing happily in the living room.  he came over to hang out with me while the bean made us some breakfast and sat quietly with me as i opened my laptop.

i may or may not have shared some of my scrambled egg with him, which further strengthened our bond.  haha!  but once the egg was gone and it was relaxing time, he went over to pester the bean as she tried her hardest to get through her book for a report that's due as soon as spring break is over.

he finally tired of that and settled for sitting above her head as he gazed out the window to make sure all was well outside.

he's such a handsome little boy.

later, he came into the kitchen as i got ready to make some cookies and ran out as soon as i started up the mixer.  he doesn't like noise.

but he was pretty happy to come and cuddle with me on the couch after i was done.

and then again much later, after the bean had gone to bed and i was just hanging out watching tv.

i took him for a ride in the car the next morning.  because while he gets lots of running around time between chasing us through the house (or vice versa) and around the back yard, i thought maybe he might like to actually get out of the house for once.  he made himself very comfortable on my lap and even used my arm as a pillow (and don't worry, i was parked when i took this).

when we got home i thought it would be nice for him to take a quick walk around the neighborhood.  and while he seemed to enjoy it immensely, it was a little tough for me...it was the first time i'd ever done this with him and every time i looked down, all i saw was my molly.  sigh.

with the bean and the hub occupied in the garage working on a school project, i thought maybe i could get some sewing done.  except that as soon as i sat down in my chair he jumped right up into my lap and made himself at home.  no sewing for me.

we moved the party down to the floor, where he dozed off while i just kind of enjoyed laying there doing nothing.

the old lady had ordered some of his treats via amazon, which were delivered that day.  i think we were both equally relieved to see them arrive.

that evening went pretty much like the night before.  we both crashed hard on the couch in front of the tv before i let him out to potty and then into his crate he went for the night.

yesterday after brunch, we came home to hang out and as i crawled into the bed to take a quick nap he decided to jump up and join me.

and then his ears perked up as he heard the hub coming down the hallway.  he knew he was busted.

so we headed out to the back yard, where he was happy to bask in the sun and take in some vitamin D.

but when he spotted me sitting in the chair he decided my lap was a much better napping spot and jumped right up.  we must have spent an hour like this.

the bean and i headed off to disneyland for the evening, leaving stevie with the hub.  i knew the hub would take off and head to the lounge after awhile, but by the time we got home he'd only been crated for a couple of hours and was thrilled to see us walk in.  i let him out to give him some playtime for a little while before i took him out to potty and then crated him again for the night.

this morning, i treated him to a spoonful of peanut butter in his toy which kept him pretty occupied while i showered after my orangetheory class.

and then the little shit managed to get ahold of one of my socks.  one of my favorite socks, to boot.  yarg.

we spent a little time sitting in the sun, enjoying the warmth and giving me time to just pet him and hang out.  seems like a pattern for the weekend, huh?

his mom and dad are due home in a few hours, and i'm sure he's going to be super duper excited to see them walk in the door.  but i'm pretty sure that spending all this time together this weekend strengthened our bond, and he might even love me as much as i love him.  sweet stevie.

and now i won't be nervous about dogsitting him the next time.  yay!